[Hormone therapy of breast cancer-its role in the treatment of breast cancer]

Abstract

Surgical hormone therapy and additive hormone therapy showed a response rate of about 30% for recurrent breast cancer, irrespective of kind of procedures or drugs. Additive hormone therapy had shorter duration of response than ablative surgery, but had still longer duration of response and less side effects than chemotherapy. Patients treated with tamoxifen alone as an initial therapy for their recurrent lesions had an over all survival time of 26 months in a median value, compared with 17 months for those treated with a combination chemotherapy. Initial treatment with tamoxifen alone eventually resulted in longer survival. To take maximum advantage of hormone therapy, it should be given in the early phase of recurrence, since ER status changes from positive to negative in the course of disease.